Private Hire

A Private Hire car, sometime known as mini-cabs, are vehicles licenced to carry passengers on a specific journey for payment as part of a private contract between the vehicle operator and the hirer.

Pre-Booking

Private hire cars must be pre-booked by telephone or other means and are breaching the terms of both their licence and their insurance if they pick up passengers on the street who have not pre-booked. Neither are they allowed to 'ply for hire' - in other words wait on the street touting for business. In the normal course of business they must display private hire plates and a private hire 'top box' which clearly states the need to pre-book.

Fares and Vehicles

Private hire fares are an agreement between the hirer and the operator. You have the right to request the price at the time of booking.

Private hire cars are normally saloon type vehicles, though larger 'people carrier' vehicles are increasingly used providing for accessible travel. Private hire cars also provide services such as airport collection and wedding vehicles. When private hire cars operate on these services their licence conditions allow for the removal of their plates and top boxes.

In which can be pre-booked by telephoning one of the operators listed below.

Reading Private Hire Firms

Private Hire cabs can be booked with one of the following firms available here. Please note that some of these firms have Hackney Carriages (black cabs). Please ask when you book. Other firms are available. For a full listing, please use www.yell.com

To report any problem you will be taken to the Reading Borough Council corporate contacts system.

Site Accessibility

In order to zoom this site to make text more easily readable, please use the zoom features of your browser.

For users with computers running Microsoft operating systems, you can increase the zoom of the site by pressing Ctrl and + at the same time. You can reduce the zoom by pressing Ctrl and -. This works with all major browsers.

For users with computers running Apple operating systems, you can increase the zoom of the site by pressing cmd (apple) and + at the same time. You can reduce the zoom by pressing cmd (apple) and -. This works with all major browsers.